This evidence report draws on data from the Institute of Development Studies' Sexuality, Poverty and Law programme to examine how discriminatory laws and policies affect people marginalised because of their gender identity or sexuality. It maps those findings onto the Sustainable Development Goals framework, showing where legal exclusion cuts across the goals.

The meta-analysis traces correlations between global development priorities, national context-specific laws and policies, and the forms of everyday discrimination experienced by people with diverse sexual orientation, gender identity and expression. It identifies the mechanisms through which exclusion operates and points to avenues for more inclusive development practice.